SWBAT: Describe how World War II was fought in the Pacific

Do Now:a) Analyze the map of the Pacific during WWII and answer the

discussion questions

Questions:

1.List the areas that were under Japanese control during World War II?

2.When did the Battle of Iwo Jima take place?

3. Which two locations were victims of the atomic bomb?

Manchuria, Burma, Thailand, French Indochina, Malaya, Philippines, and Dutch East Indies

Feb – March, 1945

Hiroshima – August 6, 1945Nagasaki – August 9, 1945

Do Now:

War in the Pacific

•The United States used the strategy of island hopping - a series of battles taking one island and then moving to the next after establishing a base on the previous island.•The United States was able to capture the islands of Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and the Philippines.•Developed by General Douglas MacArthur.

Apply your knowledge: Why would island hopping be an effective strategy for the

United States to use in the Pacific?

What Should Truman Do?Task: Read the excerpt below and complete the chart that follows.

It is July 17, 1945. You are a group of President Truman’s Closest advisors. For four years the United States and its allies have been at war with the Axis powers.

Germany and Italy have recently surrendered. Japan’s cities have been gutted and hundreds of thousands of its citizens killed as a result of American and British

bombing raids. Yet, the Japanese still refuse to accept terms of “unconditional” surrender, demanded by the Allies. The Japanese insist on keeping their emperor,

the symbol of Japanese culture. The Japanese believe their emperor is a god, and that to die in his service is an honor. So they often fight to the last soldier.

President Truman is aware, however, that the Japanese have asked the Russians to mediate a peace settlement with the United States.

Secretly, American military personnel and scientists have been working on a new weapon – an atomic bomb. Yesterday, July 16, 1945, president Truman met with

his British and Russian allies at Potsdam and was informed that the bomb had been successfully tested. This atomic bomb has 2,000 times the blast power of

what was previously the world’s most destructive bomb.

Military leaders estimate that an invasion of Japan’s home islands would result in the deaths of 1, 000, 000 American and British soldiers. They also state that if

Japanese cities were warned in advance that a new, devastating bomb would be dropped, American prisoners of war might be moved to those cities. Some

scientists propose that, instead of just dropping the bomb, the Japanese be invited to view a test demonstration of one A-bomb (the United States only has two) in

some uninhabited place. Other advisors recommend that the atomic bomb be dropped on Japan to frighten the Soviets, who will soon enter the war against

Japan, with an example of America’s military power, and keep them in their place after the war. The Soviets already have established puppet communist regimes

in the Eastern European countries they overran as they advanced on Germany. It is feared that they plan to spread their system of government with its lack of

freedom for the individual around the world.

President Truman, standing before a chalkboard labeled as follows, turns to you, his closest advisors, and says, “What can we do to bring the war with Japan to

an end?” Help him complete the chart below.

Decision: What can President Truman do to end the war with Japan?Possible Choices Advantages Disadvantages

Invade Japan with millions of troops.

Warn Japan very specifically of this terrible

new weapon. Threaten to use it if Japan

doesn’t surrender.

Don’t give Japan any specidifc warning.

Demand unconditional surrender and drop the

bomb if Japan refuses.

Invite the Japanese to a test demonstration

firing of one A-bomb in a desert.

Other:

Victory in Japan:• The Atomic Bomb was used as an effort to bring war

to a speedy conclusion and prevent further loss of life.

• The Manhattan Project was the top secret program where American scientists successfully test the atomic bomb in New Mexico.

• August 6, 1945 - The Enola Gay drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, killing 70,000-90,000 people.

• August 9, 1945 - A second atomic bomb is dropped on Nagasaki killing 40,000 instantly.

• V-J Day – August 14, 1945 – World War II is over.